Book Review : Before Time by Xunaira J .

Nineteen-year-old Onaiza Shahid is a loner and a dreamer, bookish and socially isolated. A chance ramble into a chatting software changes everything. The words of a stranger compel her. Addicted and falling fast, their secret love changes her life. But will the idealistic teenager get her happily ever after?

My review :

Onaiza is a socially isolated shy nineteen-year-old young woman looking for her place, and that perfect guy in her life. After she logs into an online chat site, where she chats with random people without giving out her personal information, she encounters a strange person; with the nickname Impassioned. She starts chatting with him on regular basis and soon become attached to him. Onaiza finds herself completely addicted to this stranger and what he was saying to her.

The story is set in Islamabad and Onaiza’s life and interactions give an authentic feel of the city. Names of real places have been used in story and Onaiza’s preferences show what they are known for. Areas such as Jinnah Supermarket and Kuch Khaas are prominent with other shops and restaurants making their presence felt.

Similarly the author has also explored mIRC well, anonymous interactions between various people and how cyber bullying impact the victims. The way chat rooms have general discussions and users move on to private chat streams for personal discussions is well highlighted through Onaiza’s experiences.

This is a wonderful book that is very well written. The author has done an amazing job in keeping the reader intrigued and glued to the pages

As a thirteen year old teenager, Xunaira J. aspired to be an author someday. From short stories to novellas, she has written them all but as an adult now, she has published two short stories and is now aiming to publish her first Novel, Before Time, scheduled for November release. Xunaira resides in Islamabad, Pakistan and enjoys a hot cup of cappuccino, a good romance novel and her favorite music from the 80’s. Apart from that, when she’s not working on her current literary project, she loves developing mobile applications and studies as a software engineer.